The rising costs in heating fuels has led to the design of a variety of inexpensive and efficient heating units. One particular field of endeavor has involved the development of portable space heaters. These are heating devices designed to heat a relatively small area for the convenience and comfort of individuals occupying the particular area for limited time periods.
A fireplace in a single room which radiates heat within the room is in effect, a space heater for that particular room as opposed to the overall dwelling. A pot-belly stove which radiates heat in a particular area can also be considered as a space heater for the area within which the heat radiates. The aforementioned two examples suffer from the drawback that they are not portable and once in location are committed to a particular area for heat radiation. Electronic and quartz space heaters have been developed which can be moved from position to position within a dwelling place and connected to an electrical outlet to provide heat in any desired location within the dwelling place. The development of electric space heaters has overcome the problem of portability associated with fireplaces and pot-bellied stoves, but the electronic space heaters also suffer from a drawback in that they can only be used where there is a source of electrical energy.
Therefore, there exists a need for an efficient space heater which is easily portable and which can be used both indoors and outdoors regardless of the presence of an electrical outlet and which uses an inexpensive fuel source. Portable types of space heaters have been disclosed, inter alia, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 208,251; 1,254,019; 1,879,954; 2,532,139 and 2,803,240.